WAITING lists and winter emergency pressures were top of the agenda at this week's meeting of the Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Board.

A multi-disciplinary group, set up last year, reported on various initiatives, such as the asthma drop-in centre, to help the Trust cope with having less beds than last year.

Their efforts to improve services were outlined on the same day (Oct 14) as Health Minister Frank Dobson announced a £300 million boost for the NHS.

A spokesperson for the hospital said: "We will definitely be bidding for some of that."

Frank Dobson said the investment was for long-term, new approaches aimed at bringing lasting benefits to the health service.

"The extra money is not just an elastoplast for the winter," he added.

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